Thrush WESTERN BIRDS 



not less strange and unlike anything seen in the east than 

 the Phainopepla; inhabiting woodland and shrubbery, 

 feeding on insects and berries, and capable of musical 

 expression in an exalted degree. Nest on the ground or 

 in rubbish near it, loosely made of grasses; eggs about 

 four, bluish white, flecked with reddish brown." 



Dawson, in his "Birds of Washington," gives a good 

 account of this curious, but most interesting bird. 



All who have heard this bird testify that he is a beau- 

 tiful singer, in that particular, at least, proving his kin- 

 ship to the Thrushes. Mrs. Bailey speaks of a low even- 

 ing song heard in the Sierra Nevadas at an elevation of 

 seven thousand, nine hundred feet; and adds: "At other 

 times, and when not on guard, the bird's song would 

 fairly ring through the air. When given freely it is a 

 strong, clear song with a flavor of its own. Heard from 

 the tips of the highest trees on the crest of the range, 

 as it so often is, the song has the freshness and invigora- 

 tion of the air from the snowbanks, and is given with the 

 strong freedom of the mountain tips. In the rocky soli- 

 tudes of the Garden of the Gods it is said that the 

 Solitaire's voice is all that breaks the silence." 



On April 27, 1920, one of these birds was seen in the 

 Edendale foothills, Los Angeles, by two enthusiastic 

 Audubon members. They were, indeed, fortunate, as the 

 bird is rare, even in migration. 



GENUS HYLOCICHLA: BUSSET- 

 BACKED THRUSH. 



Russet-backed Thrush: Hylocichla ustulata ustulata. 



FAMILY— THRUSHES, BLUEBIRDS, ETC. 



One of the best known, most widely distributed mem- 

 bers of this genus on the Pacific coast is the Russet- 



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